Word to the Wise
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - Tuesday in the First Week of Ordinary Time
[Hebrews 2:5-12 and Mark 1:21-28]Jesus came to Capernaum with his followers, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes..........
My ministry here at St. Catharine, KY, has included not only the Motherhouse of the Dominican sisters and their infirmary (The Sansbury Center) but also the college they sponsor, St. Catharine College. At St. Catharine College I have had the opportunity to teach at least three semesters in the field of biomedical ethics. This has been quite a challenge, and for the most part I enjoyed the "teaching" part but not the "grading" part. Although my role and our cultural situation are not the same as that of Jesus in the gospel passage today, there are a couple of elements with which I found myself in tune. The story in today's gospel is about more than the incident itself. In fact, it's not really about exorcism, but about Jesus' authority as a teacher. His authority to cast out demons is the same as his authority to teach. That means his WORDS have authority to reach others even when he is not physically present. This should be an important thing for any preacher to keep in mind. In teaching I found that the task was more than conveying information to students so that it could be bounced back to me on an examination. These health care students would be using what they learn (I hope) in their treatment of patients! Therefore, the teaching is about encouragement and assurance as much as about biomedical ethics. This is an act of power that may not be misused for egotistical reasons. Most of the students were not Catholic, so they were getting a first experience of a Catholic priest in addition to having one actually teach them something. Our scientific, "post-modern," minds can be drawn to the miracle or exorcism without paying attention to what is really happening. What is really happening is that we are being taught from the very pages of the Gospel of Mark. Jesus' word is alive and well and teaching us today! AMEN
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